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490

Sat. April 23  Florence.

& that of the young angel - finished. Hands - except that of Christ - fairly unfinished. That is the beauty of many of his sculptures - Night & Day - etc. - the bodies all completely realized - to the views of the heads - & then several heads left roughly chiseled - in contrast - & perhaps to point up the beauties & refinement of the finished details.

His tomb - is a disappointment. Although honored like a pope or saint in one of the most important churches of Florence - the sculptures decorating his tomb by Vasari are  [[strikethrough]] does [[/strikethrough]] not quite worthy nor monumental enough, it seemed to me. Also, the painting above - poor in execution (angels pulling aside curtains (Bad.) Nevertheless, to see Dante - Micheal Angelo, Rossini, etc. - the national heroes so enshrined & made sacred - was a deep joy to me. Who else is more worthy of reverence than the genius?



491

Sat. April 23, Florence.

Was invited for cocktails & dinner by Arthur (Arturo) Callahan & Les and Mary Crandall, brother & sister - first at Excelsior & then, dinner at Sabbatini's. Gay, charming, expensive, good food - too much wine. Fitting end to my 'Firenze.' We all really felt warm & friendly at the end, & parted, planning to meet tomorrow evening, perhaps, in Venice.

Sunday, April 24

Trip to Venice, via Ravenna. One grows tired of speaking of the beautiful - but how else (for me, at least) to describe the countryside? The fertility - the pleasing quality of it all? The drive itself, circling up & down the mountains seemed quite dangerous to me. Managing the heavy bus along the narrow winding roads - no mean feat. Luncheon at Ravenna - completely charming - its square full of cafés filled only with men - and then,  on the way, a stop at Padua - to visit Dante's grave & the Church of S. Antonio